Absolution
by tomboy-girl21
Summary: Tenten had been the new girl. Sure she heard rumors of just how wild Yamanaka Ino used to be before she went clean. But she didn't know just how screwed up her friend was. Until now.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Karma**

It was heartbreaking.

Shikamaru was a good guy.

He was loyal.

He _loved_ her.

He just wasn't _in_ love with her.

She loved him for his mind, his grounded warmth, his nonjudgmental understanding. He understood her, kept her from becoming that person she hated, that person she almost became. Did it really matter that he didn't love her that way? She was eighteen for Kami's sake. She probably didn't love him that way either.

So why did it hurt so much?

Because, an insipid voice whispered, what goes around comes around.

You did it to Sakura, and now they did it to you.

No, Ino thought desperately. Shikamaru and Temari were different, they were good people. Smart and funny and _loyal. _And they wouldn't ever do what Ino had done to Sakura.

But it didn't take away the hurt that her boyfriend of two years, the guy- no man, who kept her from plummeting of a very real cliff, had fallen in love with the only good friend Ino kept from the life she left behind. The only real friend.

When she looked up at Temari she saw that her strong, wise-cracking, _tough_ friend was blinking back _tears_. And her heart broke a little more.

_All your fault selfish girl._

"I don't want to lose you," Ino whispered, blinking back her own tears. Because that _Ino_, the one who regretted losing friends, but didn't do anything to stop it, wasn't her anymore. "Not forever. J-just for now."

"You don't have to do this," Temari said softly. Her green eyes were hard. "We wouldn't have done anything." She broke off and stared at her clenched fists, and Ino could see how hard it was for her to be so happy that Shikamaru was free, but so sad as to why. "I'm your friend Ino."

Ino smiled bitterly. "That's why. Your my friend. And he's still my friend. And if it wasn't for you two-" her voice broke. "You helped me. You _saved_ me. Just, just let me do the same. And he _wants_ you. He _needs _you." Ino sucked in her breath. "And I don't. Not like I used to."

"But Ino-"

The lighter haired blonde backed into the wall. "I already did it Temari," Ino said harshly. "I already gave him up. We're done. And even though I was the one that did it, even though I knew it was the right thing to do for all of us, it was _hard_." Ino's voice broke again. "Don't make it harder."

She could see Temari through her bangs. Ino could see that her body was tense with happiness and sadness and guilt all tangled together. She knew Temari and she knew that Temari was right. Her and Shikamaru _wouldn't _have done anything. But who was Ino, screwed up as she was, to make them force down their feelings for her?

She had been selfish for a good chunk of her life and it cost her Sakura. She had been proud and angry and stubborn. But she wasn't going to repeat that mistake. She wasn't. But it had taken hours to convince Shikamaru this was what she wanted, each minute carving a whole in her heart. She felt raw and empty. Ino slid slowly to the ground.

Temari looked older than she had in a long time. Older than the time Ino had shown up at her house at 3 in the morning, crying and angry at what she had almost let happen to her ex-best friend.

_She was my friend. And I almost let her down._

"You're my friend," Ino echoed. "And I almost let you down."

_**x0x**_

Tenten had just finished showering and peered into her room carefully. Kiba had taken to bursting in at random moments ever since he caught her changing by accident.

Nope, coast clear.

She stepped into her dorm room and rummaged around for some clean clothes. Her cellphone blinked red, signifying that she had a missed message. Grumbling, it was 2 fucking AM after all, she flipped it open. "Please enter your pass code to access your messages," a drone-like female voice intoned.

Impatiently, Tenten punched it in while simaltaneously trying to step into some cotten bottems. She froze when she heard Ino's drunk voice.

_"Hey T, by the time you get this message, I'll probably be drunk. Hell I'm drunk now! Why you may be asking? Well the guy I've been dating for two years is in love with my best friend! Not you T! I mean my other bf. Anyways, god this is irony! Serious déjà vu. You probably don't know what I mean, but who cares? Anyways, even drunk I'm smart enough to call you, my dear sober friend (you are sober right? because if you weren't my message would be useless!), to come pick me up later to prevent anything bad from happening to your favorite blonde. I'm at that bar with the creepy one-eyed bartender. Crap, he's glaring at me! Like I Care! Come find me! Hahaha, that sounds like some sad rock song! Bye Ten!"_

"End of message, to hear the next-"

Click.

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_**x0x**_

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I don't really know why I wrote this. Hmm, an unexplained urge I guess? Feedback would be great.


End file.
